My favorite Costume Making Supplies

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Ok, I hear you...

Halloween was last week. No more costumes!

But if you ask me, dressing up in costumes is for all year round - especially when they're easy to make accessories that can be worn with anything. Plus, I know that if I don't share these easy tips now while it's all fresh in my mind, I'll forget to share before next Halloween too! Shh... pretend I didn't say that!

You may have noticed through the years that our Halloween costumes are almost always made up of clothes and accessories that can be worn over and over and over. These are my favorite types of costumes as they reduce waste, can be worn by multiple kids (or adults!), and they encourage fun dress ups at any time of year. If you know Mathilde, then there's a good chance that you've seen her dressed as a coyote at random times. Oh look, there she is being a coyote on squirrel patrol - and it's not even Halloween!

So, today I'm sharing my favorite costume making supplies, including one very special "secret ingredient" that saves a ton of time and makes costume making easier no matter your crafting skills. Make sure you read through to the end for that one.

Halloween 2019

Another Halloween done and dusted!

This year's Halloween came with quite a few firsts for us. Our first Halloween in Colorado, our first year having a house to decorate, our first year handing out candy, our first time trick or treating in the snow! That last one was pretty unexpected! It was also the first year that Kim didn't wear his class nerd costume that he's worn every Halloween since we arrived in the US. Unfortunately it was far too cold for a thin polyester onesie - no matter how hilarious it looks! Ha!

This year we ended up with an inadvertent computer game theme! Ava dressed as Link from Legend of Zelda, Lola was a Minecraft panda, Mathilde was Bendy from Bendy and the Ink Machine, and I was Pikachu. Without his class nerd costume, Kim chose not to dress up this year. Trust me, we won't allow that again next year!

We had a day filled with celebrations with school parades and parties followed by trick or treating in the early evening. It was so chilly we headed out a little earlier than originally planned and we didn't stay out quite as late as we usually would, but the kids scored quite the haul in our neighborhood so they were pretty happy. Given that none of us look especially warmly dressed it may not look all that cold in my pics, but trust me, the kids were layered up with thermals underneath their costumes and once the sun went down the warm mittens and jackets came out. 

Here's a look at Halloween 2019...

Glow at the Gardens

Disclaimer: I was provided with complimentary tickets for this event.

Last week I visited Denver Botanic Gardens for the annual Glow at the Gardens Halloween event.

It was a frosty cold evening after a a day of snow, but the lights and displays were worth rugging up in layers for. The gardens were filled with amazing light displays, sculptures made of pumpkins, jack-o'lanterns of all sorts, spooky characters, and lots of children (and adults) in costumes trick or treating. It was such a fun event.

Last year when we visited Denver over Christmas break we attended the annual Blossoms of Light event and we loved it. So when I saw that there was a similar event in the lead up to Halloween, I couldn't wait to go.

Here's a look at all the fun...

Googly Eye Door Wreath DIY

This year is the first time we've been able to decorate our home for Halloween as, well, it's the first time we've had a home since we moved to the US! 

After eight years of checking out neighborhood houses decked out with skeletons, pumpkins and crazy lights it's finally our turn to decorate. The kids have been super excited about it, and I must admit, so am I. Our front yard looks like it's been hit with a kitsch Halloween bomb! Nothing goes together and it's all kind of cheesy, but that's just the way I like it. We have a giant inflatable sand worm from Beetlejuice, skulls on stakes dotted across our lawn, pumpkins on our porch, flickering blood red lights, and our lawn flamingos have turned into skeletons. You may have already seen some of our Halloween decorations on Instagram (like this one) but I'll be sharing more pics on the blog soon too.

Today I'm sharing the latest Halloween decoration that I've added to our home, as well as a super simple DIY to make one yourself. It's a googly eye wreath! Isn't it cute? I think it's a great option for families with little kids as it's kind of monstery (that's totally not a word!) but it's not at all scary.

This was an easy decoration to make with only a few materials needed, and not much time at all. Here's a look at how to make one for yourself.

Lola's Potato Party

A few weekends back we celebrated Lola's 9th birthday with a potato themed party.

Ok, I know what you're thinking... A potato themed party? Huh?

I know, it's a weird one, but if you've ever met Lola then you'll know that she tends to be, well, a little weird at times too!

I have no idea what this potato thing is all about, but Lola and her friends at school have a potato club and so it seemed only fitting that it should also be the theme of her birthday party - especially seeing as most of the guests are members of this esteemed club!

So just what does a potato themed party involve?

Potatoes, of course!

We smashed a fancy potato pinata that I made (although it looked a little more like a Mr Monopoly egg due to the balloon shape!), we played "Pin the Top Hat on the Potato", sang "Happy Birthday" over a cake featuring a fondant kawaii potato (not all potatoes are fancy!), ate Irish potato candies that I remember from my childhood and potato latkes, handed out realistic looking potato stress balls as thank you gifts, and Lola wore a potato t-shirt.

Here's a look at all the fun - well, some of it, because the kids spent half their time playing hide and seek in the house and it's hard to take photos of them when you don't know where they're hiding!

Our First Snowy Day

If you're following Little Hiccups on Instagram, or if you happen to live in Colorado, you'll know that we had some pretty crazy weather last week - including our first snow!

The week started off with fairly typical (or what we've found to be typical so far) Fall weather: sunny days with temps in the 60s and 70s F (10s and 20s C) and cool nights. It even got as warm as 79F (26C) on Wednesday. But as Wednesday evening drew near, the wind picked up and grew stronger and stronger bringing colder temperatures down from the mountains. Thursday morning we woke to light snow falling outside and a dusting of white across our yard.

By the time Lola, Mathilde and I were ready to walk to school, the snowflakes had become large and fluffy and our yard was transformed into a Winter wonderland. It was a pretty magical sight and the girls couldn't wait to get out there in the snow.

Decked out in our warmest puffy jackets, beanies, mittens and snow boots (all of which took forever to put on!) we headed outside and started our slow walk to school. Usually Lola and I ride our scooters while Mathilde zooms along on her trusty balance bike and we get to school in about fifteen to twenty minutes. With snow on the ground and the sidewalks icy I figured that wheels were probably not the best option so we stuck with walking instead. This meant that our journey to school took about half an hour as the girls slowly trudged through the snow.

When we arrived at school we discovered a yellow flag on the school's flag pole. This meant that instead of waiting outside their classrooms for the bell to ring as usual, the kids were to enter their classrooms right away. I had wondered what the procedure would be for snowy days.

Fall Fun at Anderson Farms

It's finally Fall!

Well, it has been for a few weeks now, but it's finally starting to feel like Fall. The leaves are changing color, the nights are getting cooler, and there are pumpkins and Halloween decorations everywhere. 

To celebrate the coming of my favorite Season we headed to Anderson Farms in nearby Erie for a Fall Festival with Kim's work recently. It was such a fun event and a super fun place to celebrate the season.

Visiting a pumpkin patch is always one of my favorite Fall activities and just like everything with our move, a new pumpkin patch was on my "must find" list! Anderson Farms perfectly fit the bill checking off all my pumpkin patch favorites, plus more! Tractor rides, pumpkin picking, a corn maze, cheesy photo opportunities, a petting zoo, fun rides and amusements... it's all there.